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HOLLY HILL - The Orangeburg County Consolidated School District Three Board of Trustees approved a $25.1 million budget for fiscal year 2008-09 Monday night and also learned the district’s superintendent will retire at the end of the 2009 school year.

The proposed budget received final approval during the special called meeting, with the spending plan reflecting a seven-mill tax increase. Superintendent Dr. David Longshore Jr. said the millage rate increase will not affect primary residence homeowners, but will affect businesses and owners of vacation homes. He said the budget is subject to change based on updated projections. The budget totaling $25,105,000 was approved without amendment.

“That’s the general fund budget, so it doesn’t include federal dollars. That’s state and local revenues,” Longshore said.

Also during the meeting, Longshore announced he is retiring after the 2009 school year. He has worked in OCSD 3 for 28 years as a teacher, principal and superintendent.

“I plan on traveling a great deal with my wife. We intend on spending a lot of time out of this country and seeing other parts of the world,” Longshore said. “I also plan on spending a lot of time with my grand kids.”

In other business, the board approved the appointment of Dr. Mamie Dupree as principal of Elloree Elementary School. Dupree earned her undergraduate degree in English from Morris College in Sumter, her master’s in education from the University of South Carolina and her doctorate from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. She has been the principal of Spaulding Elementary School and Lamar Elementary School.

The board also:

* Voted to cancel its regularly scheduled meeting on July 8.

* Approved a field trip for Lake Marion High School 12th-graders to attend USC Aiken’s College Summit Summer Workshop July 10-12.

T&D Correspondent S.W. Shoptaw can be reached by e-mail at Swsx5@aol.com.

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